Sega begins sponsoring Japanese professional soccer team JEF United Ichihara. A soccer-kicking Sonic is featured alongside the Sega logo on the
team's uniform. The sponsorship lasted until January, 1997.

February:

Archie Comics begins publishing the official "Sonic the Hedgehog" comic book based on concept work for the pending ABC cartoon show. Freedom
fighters Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Princess Sally Acorn, Boomer, Bunnie Rabbot, and Antoine D'Coolette stand against Dr. Robotnik's
tyrannical rule. The comic started as a 4 issue mini-series, flowed straight into ongoing status, and has been published continuously since. At 190
issues and counting, it's become one of the most successful new comic series of the past decade, and has spawned many specials and spinoff series,
including a mini-series starring Tails and a short-lived regular series starring Knuckles. (The art of GHZer Jonathan "WB" Gray began appearing with
issue #134, which includes a small GHZ reference on page 20.)

March 14 - November 7:

Sega sponsors Formula 1's Williams team for the 1993 season. Sonic's gloves and trademark red sneakers are painted on the car, positioned to suggest
that Sonic's feet are at the pedals. The team's drivers, Damon Hill and Alain Prost, sport Sonic's smirking mug on their helmets. (Opposing team
McLaren added a squashed hedgehog insignia to their car each time they won a race over Williams.) The Williams-Renault team went on to become the
world champions of the season. Additionally, the third GP of the year was sponsored by Sega, with a giant Sonic balloon and Sega billboards placed
around Donington Circuit. The race queens were decked out in tight-fitting Sonic costumes, and the race winner, Ayrton Senna, was awarded a statue
featuring Sonic holding a gold trophy.

May 29:

Fleetway Editions Ltd. begins publishing the official "Sonic the Comic" comic book in the UK. Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose,
Porker Lewis, and Johnny Lightfoot specialize in giving Dr. Ivo Robotnik a hard time, and keeping Mobius a free planet. Early issues of the comic
also feature stories from other Sega games, such as Golden Axe and Streets of Rage (Bare Knuckle). The last original story was
published in July 2000, but reprints continued until January 2002.

April:

Sega Sonic Popcorn Shop, a combination popcorn machine and mini-game on Sega's C-2 board, is released in Japan. The game is created by AM1 and
the machine is developed by Sega Mechatro. Rotate the crank to help Tails get those kernels into the fire. While you're busy helping young Prower
on his quest for popping supremacy, the actual food is being microwaved in a nearby compartment. When the game is over and the popcorn is done, the
grub is dropped into a paper cup featuring Sonic and Tails. Hungry arcade-goers have three flavors to choose from: salted, butter, and curry. (Yes,
curry.)

"The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog", an animated series from DiC, enters syndication in the US. Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower keep
Dr. Robotnik and his bumbling badnik cronies Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts on their toes in wacky cartoon hijinks. The cast includes Jaleel White
as Sonic, Christopher Welch as Tails, and Long John Baldry as Dr. Robotnik. 65 episodes were created, plus a special Christmas episode ("Sonic
Christmas Blast") that debuted three years later. Select episodes (including the Christmas special) are available on VHS and DVD.

September 18:

"Sonic the Hedgehog", an animated series from DiC, begins its network run on ABC Saturday mornings. The series is very similar to the Archie comic
book (which was created based on conceptual work for this cartoon), though it carries a darker tone and different character design.

Former military commander Julian Robotnik has usurped the king of Mobotropolis and recreated the city as a mechanical wasteland called Robotropolis.
All of the citizens have been transformed into robot slaves except for a small band of escapees: Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Princess Sally Acorn,
Rotor, Bunnie, and Antoine. From their hidden forest stronghold Knothole Village, the Freedom Fighters plot to overthrow Robotnik's dictatorship and
restore power to the throne. The cast includes Jaleel White as Sonic, Bradley Pierce as Tails, and Jim Cummings as Dr. Robotnik. The series got a
first season of 13 episodes and was renewed in 1994 for another 13, making a total of 26 episodes. Scripting for a third season began, but was never
completed. As of March 2007, the complete series is available on DVD.

The 65-foot long Sonic balloon makes its debut in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was the first and, for years, only balloon based on a
videogame character. Unfortunately for Sonic, 1993 turned out to be the windiest Macy's parade day on record, and the giant float knocked over a
lamppost (what else) just south of Columbus Circle, injuring two.

Notes: A children's ride-on machine in Sega's "Wakuwaku" line. Only released in Japan.

???:

A European neurological research center discovers a new gene in the hedgehog (hh) string, a category so-named because of its visual
effects on fruit fly embryos. While deciding on a name for their discovery, one of the researchers came across a magazine ad for Sonic the
Hedgehog 3, and felt the name perfectly described their team. The subsequently-titled Sonic hedgehog gene (SHH) is an extracellular protein that
transmits signals by binding to a receptor on the surface of a cell. In this way, the gene directs motor neurons on the path to differentiation.
Since its discovery, Sonic hedgehog has become one of the most heavily researched genes, and has provided neurologists with a wealth of information
on the nervous system.

???:

Penguin Books Ltd. introduces a Sonic the Hedgehog line into their series of "Adventure Gamebooks" interactive fantasy novels. The Sonic line
includes six books, written by James Wallis, Nigel Gross, Jon Suitherland, Marc Gascoigne, and Jonathan Green. The books are: Metal City
Mayhem, Zone Rangers, Sonic vs. Zonik (1994), The Zone Zapper (1994), Theme Park Panic (1995), and Stormin'
Sonic (1996).

???:

Virgin Books publishes a series of Sonic the Hedgehog junior novels, written by Marc Gascoigne, James Wallis, and Carl Sargent under the collective
pen name of Martin Adams. The series includes: Sonic the Hedgehog in Robotnik's Laboratory, Sonic the Hedgehog in the Fourth
Dimension, Sonic the Hedgehog and the Silicon Warriors, and Sonic the Hedgehog in Castle Robotnik (1994).

???:

Troll Associates publishes a series of Sonic the Hedgehog junior novels, written by Michael Teitelbaum and based on the ABC Saturday morning cartoon.
The first is Sonic the Hedgehog, followed a year later by Robotnik's Revenge. In 1995 came Fortress of Fear, Friend or
Foe, and Sonic & Knuckles.